The paper begins with an introductory paragraph, allowing readers to learn and see the importance of the research topic. With many states legalizing both medical and recreational marijuana, an important question for voters, legislators, and potential users is whether marijuana is safe. There have been many studies done on the topic, with findings on both sides. The focus of this paper will be to Introductory paragraphs should arly research on both sides of the question and to evaluate the quality of each. To contain a preview of what will be covered in ost reliable information possible, I have chosen to present the findings of meta- the rest of the paper. of the question of the safety of marijuana use. I will present and evaluate the reasoning used by each and conclude with a discussion of the value of different types of sources in terms of the degree of support that they provide for their conclusions. Presentation of an Argument that Marijuana Use is Safe A large meta-study was performed by a group of researchers at UC San Dicg Clear section headings make certain that the on the long-term neurocognitive effects of cannabis use (Grant et al., 2003). The study a paper is organized and other studies that had been done, comparing data for 623 cannabis users against 409 non- or make it easy for instructors minimal users. The researchers found that chronic users of marijuana showed minor decrease to know that all required This ormance in the categories of learning and remembering, but no other significant effects. elements of the assignment paragraph concludes that cannabis is probably safe for use for medical purposes (2003). have been introduces the covered. reader to the source and The primary argument given may be represented in standard form as follows: overviews its findings. Premise 1: Combining data from studies that have been done on the effects of marijuana use on cognitive function allows for a large data pool from which to draw strong conclusions. Premise 2: In six out of the eight cognitive areas studied, namely: reaction time, attention, language, abstraction/executive, perceptual, and motor skills, no significant cognitive impairment was found among marijuana users. The premises of the argument are not usually listed clearly within The clearest way to articles (scholarly or otherwise). It is necessary for you to formulate express an argument is in what you feel is the main argument given in the paper. standard form, with the premises labeled and listed above the conclusion.Premise 3: In the two areas in which cognitive impairment was found, learning and memory, the effect was small and could have been affected by sample bia The premises and conclusion of your Premise 4: Medical use of marijuana tends not to involve long term use, r argument should be put in your own words. If some more minor, if any, ill effects. passages are directly from the source, then they Premise 5: Medical use of marijuana is likely to have benefits that our should occur within quotation marks, with the source cited. amounts of harm. Conclusion: Medical use of marijuana has "an acceptable margin of safety under the more limited conditions of exposure that would likely obtain in a medical setting" (Grant et al., 2003). Evaluation of the Argument that Marijuana Use is Safe The reasoning presented appears to be strong since the premises appear adequately to support the idea that the potential harms are minor and either do not apply to medical use or are After the argument is ats to be gained therefrom. The article also attempts to explain away the given, there is a paragraph detailing the in learning and memory, suggesting that they could be due to selection bias in strength of the This is a reasoning (how certain eviewed or due to an insufficient time of non-use of the drug prior to the study comment the premises make the on the conclusion, assuming 2003). If the article is right about that, then perhaps there is no significant amount of that they are true). support harm even in those two areas. The article supplies substantial support for its for the premises. premises, since there is a large data pool, all of it gathered from scientific studies. However, the article points out that there are limitations of the research, such as different lengths of time within the studies since the last use of the drug and the question whether long term marijuana users may not have the same initial cognitive abilities as those the making causal inferences more difficult (2003). The instructions do not require that It is important to point out any weakness in the reasoning as you address ALL of the bullet well. Sometimes these weaknesses are pointed out in the article points listed, but states, "You may and not necessarily fallacious. Other times, you may notice address questions such as the weaknesses in the reasoning that are not acknowledged within following." I chose the ones that the article itself. Either way, it is important to comment on any seemed most relevant here. such factors affecting the strength of the reasoning.It is good to supply section headings that are as clear as possible about what the section covers. Presentation of an Argument that Marijuana Use is Unsafe On the other side of the issue, a study from 2016 seems to demonstrate the exact opposite conclusion. The authors show that use of marijuana, especially by teens, has many long term negative effects and is associated with a multitude of, including physical, psychiatric, neurological, and social impairments (Feeney & Kampman, 2016). The argument presented can be summarized as follows: Premise 1: Marijuana is addictive (Volkow et al., 2014). Premise 2: Marijuana causes breathing problems (Tashkin et al., 2002). Premise 3: Marijuana may increase the likelihood of developing schizophrenia and other psychiatric symptoms (Arseneault et al., 2004). Premise 4: Marijuana causes long terms harms cognitive abilities, includi It is important to present both arguments as memory, processing speed, and executive functioning (Thames et al., 201 strongly as possible. One of the points of this Premise 5: Marijuana use by teens is correlated with lower academic achi assignment is to be able to understand and performance, and social functioning in relationships (Palamar et al., 2014 appreciate the strongest arguments on each side Premise 6: Marijuana use results in decreased psychomotor function, and of issues (rather than to take sides). causing driving risks (Neavyn et al., 2014). Conclusion: Marijuana use can cause physical, psychological, neurological, and social These harm, especially when used by adolescents. sentences evaluate the Evaluation of the Argument that Marijuana Use is Unsafe strength of the reasoning The reasoning in the article seems quite strong. The conclusion seems to follow from the itself. mises since it mostly summarizes the research findings. Furthermore. the premises are well supported since they are all based in scientific research studies. However, there are some limitations in the strength of the reasoning (as noted withi study). One of those limitations is that we are not sure in all cases if marijuana use is the c In addition to summarizing the strength of the reasoning This sentence comments on the support for the and support for the premises, it is important to note any premises (which is a separate question from the sources of weakness within the argument. strength of the reasoning).This section contrasts the evidence given by scholarly the impairment observed. For example, the article notes that the correlation with schizophre sources (Week 3) with the may or may not be causal (Feeney & Kampman, 2016). Furthermore, most of the studies for amount of evidence given on the use of marijuana by teens; therefore, these results may have limited application to by non- scholarly discussions of marijuana use among adults, especially those using it for medical purposes. sources (from Week 2). Evaluation of Arguments in Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Sources Both of these scholarly sources supply quite a bit of evidence for their conclusions by analyzing the data from multiple scientific studies. Non-scholarly sources, by contrast, frequently make claims that are not supported at all, or are only supported by other partisan sources. One of Part of the point of holarly sources I read does not explicitly cite any research at all, but only implies that the Week 2 and Week 3 assignments "ou.). This allows non-scholarly sources, such as advocative web pages, to is to contrast the type of support that one can find in ound as though the case for their position is much stronger than it actually is. scholarly versus non-scholarly owever. as we have seen. even scholarly sources are capable of contradicting each sources. s would not be surprising in non-scholarly sources, especially between sources with advocative intent. It is more surprising to find contradictory results within scholarly sources. However, there are possible ways to resolve these contradictions. One possibility comes from noting that the first meta-study combined the data from its stu Some of these specific studies showed greater and lesser scores for various neurocognitive among marijuana users, and the meta-study's methodology allowed them to cancel ca r out. The study on the contrary side, on the other hand, simply cited one source each fo jous harms, which may have enabled the authors to select studies to cite that showed re favorable to their preferred conclusion. Some of the questions in the prompt for this section are intended to be somewhat open- ended ... the purpose is to critically discuss the sources of evidence, including the relative strengths and weaknesses of each. This analysis goes beyond just answering those questions and focuses on an interesting related issue about apparent contradictions one can find even in scholarly research.Thus, while non-scholarly sources can be clearly partisan and non-objective, pulling from whichever sources, reliable or not, that support their point of view, even scholarly sources are able to analyze data in ways that are far from neutral. Conclusion: Studying the reasoning on each side of the issue has been enlightening. Though there is still debate, even among scholars, about the safety of marijuana use, studying the reasoning from high quality sources gives perspective about the type of evidence that is being used on each side, allowing one to assess which evidence is more reliable and provides more support for its conclusion. In the future, I am more likely to go to scholarly sources over popular ones and to analyze a multitude of scholarly results to understand the issue from a more well informed point of view. AMPLE A simple concluding paragraph can contain things such as thoughts on what one has learned about the value of searching out different types of sources.Write a paper that includes the following: Introduction (100 w.) TOPIC: The use of social media improves a business. . Explain your topic and state the specic question that you are ad- dressing. Presentation of an Argument (200 w.) - Describe the scholarly source on one side of the issue. - Present what you see as the main argument from that source (present the argument in standard form, with the premises listed above the conclusion). Evaluation of the quality of the reasoning in this source (200 w.) You may address questions such as the following: - How adequately does the article support the premises of the argu- ment? - How strongly do the premises of the argument support the truth of the conclusion? - What (if any) missing premises would be needed to complete the argument (make it valid/strong)? Are these missing premises jus tified or merely assumptions? Presentation of an Opposing Argument (200 w.) . Describe the scholarly source on the other side of the issue. - Present what you see as the main argument from that source in standard form, with the premises listed above the conclusion. Evaluation of the quality of the reasoning in this source (200 w.) You may address questions such as the following: - How adequately does the article support the premises of the argu- ment? . How strongly do the premises of the argument support the truth of the conclusion? - What (if any) missing premises would be needed to complete the argument (make it valid/strong)? Are these missing premises jus tified or merely assumptions? Evaluation of Arguments in Non-Scholarly and Scholarly Sources (100 w.) . Discuss the differences in the quality of the reasoning or in the de- gree of support for premises in these scholarly sources con trasted with non-scholarly sources. Conclusion (50 w.) - Reflect on how this activity might influence how you conduct re- search in the future